# Pampady

Pampady is a large town in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is midway between the backwaters of Western Kerala and the mountains of the Western Ghats.

## Etymology

According to Malayalam Dictionary, Sabdatharavali of Sreekandeswaram means "The Land of Lord Vishnu". The area where a Sreekrishna Temple was located was named Pampady, possibly influencing the town's current name.

## History

Vennimala, on the western border of Pampady was once the Capital of Thekkumkur. In 1749, Marthanda Varma of Venadu captured Thekkumkoor and annexed it into Travancore. After 1956, Pampady became a part of the Travancore-Cochin state. Old records dating back to ME 352 (AD 1176), kept with Kaithamattom Illam in Velloor, shed light on the history of Pampady. It details human inhabitation roughly 1,000 years ago. Up until the middle of 16th Century, Pampady was ruled by the king of Thekkumkoor. Pampady had three portions, Velloor, Pampady and Thekkan Pampady. Major areas of Thekkan Pampady were owned by Kongoor Pallimana.

## Transportation

National highway 183 (Previously named National Highway 220) passes through the middle of Pampady city. It is also connected to Kottayam, Ponkunnam, Kanjirappally, Pala, Pallickathode and Karukachal. Local railway stations include the Kottayam railway station (16km) and Changanacherry railway station (22km). The nearest international airport is Cochin International Airport (90km).

## Places of worship

There are multiple temples located in the town, including Cheruvallikavu Devi temple, Pampady Mahadeva temple, St.John's Orthodox Cathedral Pampady and Alampally Sreekrishnaswamy temple. Catholic churches nearby include St. Mary's Malankara Catholic Church, St. Mary's Simhasana Cathedral, Devamatha Syro Malabar Catholic Church, Holy Immanuel CSI Church in Pampady, St. Simon's Jacobite Church in Velloor, St. Thomas Orthodox Church, South Pampady and Martha Mariam Jacobite Church Pampady East.

## Education

Schools located Pampady are managed by the Block Resource Centre. There are multiple high schools and higher educational institutions throughout the town, along with a number of primary schools.

## Culture

The Malayalam writer Ponkunnam Varkey was born in Pampady. Navalokam is an active cultural forum functioning within Pampady. There is an Arts Society located in the town, along with a cultural programmes in the Community Hall every month. Deepa Arts Club was an active club in the 1970s, and was affiliated with Manorama Balajanasakhyam. They used to participate in the Balalokam program of All India Radio.

## Government Institutions

The Pampady Block is located at Pallickathode about 9km from Pampady city. Pampady has multiple government and semi government institutions including the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, the Police Circle Inspector Office, a BSNL exchange, a Panchayath office and a KSEB Sub-station.

## Notable people

* Ponkunnam Varkey, writer
* Pampady John Joseph, Dalit activist and the founder of the socio-religious movement Cheramar Mahajan Sabha
* Thomas Kurian, business manager and CEO of Google Cloud
* George Kurian, CEO of NetApp
* Baiju N Nair, prominent automotive and travel journalist